"Shane turned Uraza's bonded partner against the Greencloaks before she understood who she was fighting with. I believe that the Wisekeeper knows what and who she is fighting against but distrusts both. Why not spread the word about a possible traitor in the ranks,"" Ashia asks.



Justin couldn't help but smile slightly when he figured out Ashia's plan, cause havoc in the Conqueror's ranks with the traitor ploy. He should have seen that coming from the beginning.


(Sorry my response is so short I have a migraine.)

Mahesh nods, "I could do that. Or you could do the very same when you report to your captain." Mahesh smiles at Ashia and motions for his men to back off to let Ashia and her group by. He wouldn't have his group murmuring about or believing in any rumors. It could set his own people at each others throats and that would not be good for overall morale.
Ryan, when he backs off, begins to sense the presence of Justin and the others with the help of Teivel, his fox bond. He sends a warning to Mahesh and the leader of the band of Conquerors tells his group to pause in backing off and to not let Ashia's group through until further direction. Mahesh looks to Sylver and the woman sends her mouse bond with Teivel to see what the new disturbance is.
"Greencloaks didn't follow you, did they?" Mahesh asks Ashia, recalling the fact that Ashia had said she had been having trouble with the Greencloaks.
***
Mae thinks she understands a bit of Ashias plan and is silently praising and cursing Ashia's proficiency in deception. She glances towards Matamba and Brandon when the two look more ready to fight or flee than previously. Mae doesn't sense the mouse or hostile fox but Matamba has and the panther has let Brandon know of the possible threat.
Brandon knows that mice and foxes don't usually work together and is put on edge. He relays the information that Matamba gave him to Justin just in case Orin hadn't spotted the approaching animals.

(You're good. I hope the migraine goes away.)

Orin had warned Justin about them. Hearing what Ashia said Justin calmly takes out a rope and puts it gently around Mae's wrists while disarming her. The rope looks tight but in truth was loose enough that Mae could undo it in a hurry if something went wrong. After that Justin quickly calls Orin into passive state before either of them is seen. Justin didn't know if the Conquerors would recognize him by his spirit animal, but he didn't want to take that chance.



"A friend of mine has a group that is trying to catch up with my group. It's most likely them and from what I understand they had a Greencloak prisoner with them that knew the maze. Do you have a problem with that Mahesh," Ashia asks. Ashia's tone was slightly mocking but at the same time serious. She tries to keep calm knowing that appearances would either save her or end her in this situation.

Mae looks slightly put off at being tied up, but she accepts it. Her spirit animal goes into passive state and she looks as annoyed as any prisoner would. "You know I don't really know the way, right?" She mutters to Justin so only he could hear. "I was just planning on being an escort, not memorizing the maze."
Brandon fidgets with his weapons but keeps them at the ready. Matamba doesn't go back into passive state, at least not yet. She wants to make sure that Brandon will be alright and safe before she goes into passive state again.

Mahesh nods to Ryan and Sylver and the Ryan goes to help Ashia's friend escort the prisoner. He didn't want the Greencloak to get away if it knew the way through the maze. "Then I suppose you'll be needed at the front of the Conqueror troops, not back here with us. Ryan or Sylver will assist you, which ever one's skills you think you will need." He doesn't fully trust anyone who works as an infiltrator, sorry.

"What are their skills," Ashia asks, "after all I don't want someone who will slow me down." Ashia wonders how exactly she can get herself and her group out of this situation. She knew it wasn't going to be easy. This was a tight situation and one of the more difficult situations that Ashia had ever gotten into.



Justin tries not to apologize to Mae but this was Ashia's plan. He wonders how Ashia is going to get them out of this situation. Justin tries to reason out how this plan of Ashia's could work out even if the groups were separated. Justin knew the maze fairly well since he had also memorized the map that Ashia had but that most likely wouldn't be enough to save them if this situation went from bad to worse.

"Sylver is proficient with finding places to hide/rest out of harm's sight and finding a variety of food and knowing what not to eat. Their spirit animal gives them better stealth. They use long-ranged weapons.
"Ryan has expertise in tracking, endurance missions, and poisons. His spirit animal helps him in more endurance. If it comes to a fight, Ryan will be rather versatile but he prefers long-ranged weapons."
Ryan meets up with Justin and waves a chipper hello. Teivel sticks by Ryan's side and looks cautiously at Matamba before disappearing into passive state.
Brandon stands awkwardly to the side and keeps within an arm's reach to both Justin and Matamba. Matamba is watching the mouse with a curiosity that a predator has when observing prey. Brandon reaches out to her and gently runs a hand over her ruff to calm her down as her tail flicks in anticipation. The mouse disappears into passive state once she is within Sylver's view.
Mae goes along with Justin and tries her best not to wreck whatever plan he and Ashia have in action. She looks very uncomfortable and unhappy. Mae isn't sure how much longer she will stick with the Keepers, but she sure hopes it isn't much longer.

"Very well then I'll take Ryan with me. My group will be moving pretty fast and we'll need someone who can keep up. We won't have time for breaks," Ashia walks to the front of the groups then looks back at Mae, Brandon, and Justin, "Now let's get moving. Jacob stay with the prisoner. Braton, right? You come with me I need someone with your skills." Ashia wants to get Brandon away from the Conquerors so that he and Hazel could work together. She knew that Justin could get away from this group of Conquerors without many issues as long as Mae helped him.
Justin looks around at the Conquerors some of which were no older then himself and wondered why they chose to fight for the Devourer.

Mahesh watches the groups interact. He pulls Ryan aside for a moment and gives him the mission to keep an eye on Ashia's group, do a general job spying if needed, and make sure they are what they say they are. Something about the Keeper's group seems off to him but he can't put his finger to it.
To Ashia, Mahesh nods and smirks, "Just make sure to return him once you've completed your quest. I'll need him later. Good luck."
Ryan eyes the group in front of him and the new person, Braton. "That's a strange name." He offers to Brandon. Brandon simply shrugs and falls into step beside Hazel. Ryan then entertains himself by trying to guess what everyone is good at. He compliments Ashia, "You've got a pretty well rounded group it seems."

Mae is very thankful that she isn't getting left behind by herself with the Conquerors. She sizes up the Conquerors and offered everyone absolutely no hint or clue as to what she was feeling or thinking.

"I've worked hard at putting them together for this mission," Ashia responds, "now keep up or be left behind." At that she takes off at a run towards the center of the maze. She made sure that the others would be able to keep up but at the same time the pace seems merciless. She knew that Ryan was spying on her and her group and that he wasn't the only spy watching them. Soon enough Ashia had a feeling she would get to test her hunch about the bile. Panting Ashia keeps up the pace wondering just how far behind the Greencloak reinforcements were.


Justin watches the Conquerors trying to see if they would be able to get out of that situation by fighting. He didn't know much about how Mae fought and knowing that Ashia wouldn't be able to protect his back didn't comfort him. This was a fairly large group of Conquerors, but Justin was able to pick out the most dangerous ones of the bunch including Mahesh.

Ray nods and accepts the terms of service. He doesn't like to be left behind so he keeps the grueling pace that Ashia puts in place. He does fine matching Ashia's stride but when Jay begins to fall behind once more, he runs alongside the usually perky man. Ryan gives Jay encouragement to keep the pace and keeps Jay moving about the same pace as Ashia and the others.
Brandon isn't too happy about starting to run at this pace again just yet but he doesn't complain. He sticks by Hazel's side and keeps an eye on Ryan. Matamba went back into passive state. Brandon begins to tire as well and his energy takes a dive. He refuses to call for a break or slow the group down, pushing himself to stay with his friends and family.

(I don't know where the other Greencloak reinforcements are. Do you want them to back up Justin?)

Mae seems to be focused on being on the defensive than offensive during a fight based on her weapons. Mae couldn't really, fully trust anyone around her but she supposed that her situation could be worse. She had already picked out Mahesh as a dangerous opponent and she thinks that the one with the bonded raccoon (Ahmir) seemed to be ready to lay down his life for his leader and would someone would have to go through him before one could reach Mahesh.